Dr. Erica Warren offers a friendly and informative place where teachers, parents and therapists can find expert advice, multisensory strategies and mindful teaching materials. Find all her resources, at www.goodsensorylearning.com

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You can now save time, money, and space! Did you know that you do not have to print out your classroom or tutoring activities anymore? You can simply open a PDF, or with the newer MacOS operating systems, a simple screenshot of a pdf, Word doc, Google doc, web page, or even a printed workbook page instantly offers drawing and writing tools that can be used to complete the activity. If you want more drawing, tracing or coloring options, you can share the image to the drawing App, Procreate. To top it off, as soon as the student completes the activity, they can then save and forward the completed image in a text or email! This lightens book bags, saves on paper and ink, and it is better for our environment! Let me show you how to do this.

What is a Screenshot?
A screenshot captures the image you see on your screen and stores it on your camera roll, and it can be edited, shared, and stored.

How to do this on an Ipad:Find the image, file, webpage, or handout you want to capture.Set u…

For many young learners, reading is a tantalizing adventure into the imagination of an author and a fun way to increase knowledge. However, for other learners, reading can be a tedious chore that can result in avoidance and even tantrums. So, what can you do when a child hates to read? It is a two-step process. First, one must uncover the problem or problems. Then, one must pick among a number of solutions. I Uncover the Problem or Problems
There are a number of difficulties that can make the process of reading a dull and laborious grind, and uncovering the core cause(s) can help to untangle the problematic turmoil.Visual processing deficits: Visual processing is a cognitive skill that allows us to process and interpret meaning from information that we see through our eyes, and it plays an important role in academic subjects such as reading, math, and spelling. To learn about the different types of visual processing, click here.Labored decoding skills: Decoding is the ability to…

Inferences or implied meanings are often subtle, hidden messages that can be challenging for many young learners to recognize and understand. They require abstract reasoning skills, and for concrete learners, inferences can seem quite perplexing. Most students first encounter inferences when discussing their readings, but I like to pave the way and introduce these ideas through images, metaphors, product names, games, and more. 1) Review magazine advertisementsLesson: Project magazine ads and ask your students to search for hidden images and messages that entice buyers to purchase the products. Look at the pictures, words, colors, backgrounds, symbols, layouts, and more. Group activity: Encourage your students to find their own advertisements from magazines and newspapers. Ask them to cut out their three favorites and answer the following questions. What are all the hidden messages in each advertisement that helps to sell the product? Can you think of any other hidden message that they…

Using games in the learning process brings joy as well as a positive motivating factor into lessons. Instead of bribing kids with external motivators such as candy and stickers, games ignite an internal love for learning.

Reading Games Are Necessary for Struggling Readers
When learning to read is a struggle, it can have a major impact on a child's academic self-esteem. What's more, additional work and lessons on a topic that does come easily can feel torturous and simply unfair! In contrast, if quick lessons are supported with fun games, a chore can quickly transform into playful entertainment.

I have created four comprehensive reading game publications that can be used with virtually any phonics or Orton-Gillingham reading program. They are all available as digital downloads and the following tables describe all of the games that are included in each publication. You can purchase all the publications in a discounted bundle, or you can buy them individually by clicking on …

When students love to read they have an enormous advantage over those who don't. Research shows that reading exercises attention, exposes readers to new ideas, and improves knowledge, vocabulary, imagination, writing abilities, attention and memory. So why is reading loved by some and hated by others?Why do Some Children Love to Read While Others Don't?
Imagine going to the movies with your eyes closed. Would that be fun? Would it be easy to get distracted by your thoughts, because you have no visuals to pull you into the story? Would it be boring? How about comprehending the plot? Would you confuse the characters or miss other important details? What watching a movie and reading have in common is imagery. While a movie provides the images that the audience passively views, good readers actively create mental imagery that engages their imagination, drives their attention, and pulls them into the virtual reality of the story.